Kildare dweller Kieran Ryan took on the role of ICGP CEO during a difficult and troublesome time for the Irish healthcare system. As the new Government was settling in at Leinster House, so too was the former associate director and surgical R&D manager at the RCSI, who had just taken up his first ever position as CEO of an institution.

Last month, the National Office for Suicide Prevention (NOSP), the HSE West and Console teamed up to launch three new resources that will provide guidance for people who deal with suicide within communities around Ireland. The resources include national standards for the provision of suicide bereavement services and a mental health promotion training programme for staff who care for older persons.

A Department of Health discussion paper has outlined proposals for a new level of consultant doctor.

Niamh Cahill speaks to Mayo GP Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald about frustrations among GPs and the difficult reality for general practice on the ground.

The recently published 2011 Annual Report from the Mental Health Commission (MHC) contains many of the same criticisms as the Commission made in other years about the state of the country’s mental health facilities. The implementation of the mental health strategy, A Vision for Change, continues to be slow and a number of approved centres are still found to be inadequate.

On May 1, professional competence schemes will have been up and running for a year. Before the schemes commenced there was definite apprehension amongst the profession, training bodies, and unions about the details of the schemes. How would they be funded? Would the requirements they place on doctors be too onerous? What would happen to doctors not affiliated with training bodies? A year on, many of these issues have been addressed, yet challenges still remain.

Safety in prescribing and prescribing errors are under the microscope at the moment, and IMN spoke to Professor David Williams recently about an upcoming meeting that will focus on the future of rational prescribing.

The scandal surrounding the Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) silicone breast implant medical device reaffirms the need for greater regulation surrounding medical devices and private cosmetic surgery facilities, members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health have argued.